Cry Me a River (Arthur Hamilton song)

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"Cry Me a River"
Song
Published1953
Songwriter(s) Arthur Hamilton

"Cry Me a River" is an American popular song, written by Arthur Hamilton, first published in 1953 and made famous in 1955 with the version by Julie London.

Contents

In 2001, the Julie London version of "Cry Me a River" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. [1]

Origins and early recordings

Arthur Hamilton later said of the song: "I had never heard the phrase. I just liked the combination of words... Instead of 'Eat your heart out' or 'I'll get even with you,' it sounded like a good, smart retort to somebody who had hurt your feelings or broken your heart." He was initially concerned that listeners would hear a reference to the Crimea, rather than "..cry me a...", but said that "..sitting down and playing the melody and coming up with lyrics made it a nonissue." [2]

A bluesy jazz ballad, "Cry Me a River" was originally written for Ella Fitzgerald to sing in the 1920s-set film Pete Kelly's Blues (released 1955). According to Hamilton, he and Julie London had been high school classmates, and she contacted him on behalf of her husband, Jack Webb, who was the film's director and was looking for new songs for its soundtrack. [3] After the song was dropped from the film, Fitzgerald first released her version on Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie! in 1961. The song was also offered to Peggy King, but Columbia Records A&R chief Mitch Miller objected to the word "plebeian" in the lyric. [4] [5]

The song's first release was by actress and singer Julie London on Liberty Records in 1955, backed by Barney Kessel on guitar and Ray Leatherwood on double bass. [6] London had been urged to record the song by Bobby Troup, whom she would later marry after her divorce from Webb. [3] A performance of the song by London in the 1956 film The Girl Can't Help It , helped to make it a bestseller (reaching no. 9 on US and no. 22 on the UK Singles Chart). It became a gold record, and in 2016, it was inducted by the Library of Congress in the National Recording Registry. [7]

Joe Cocker version

"Cry Me a River"
Single by Joe Cocker
from the album Mad Dogs & Englishmen
B-side "Give Peace a Chance"
ReleasedSeptember 1970 (1970-09)
RecordedMarch 27–28, 1970
Venue Fillmore East, New York City
Genre Rock, soul
Length3:50
Label A&M
Songwriter(s) Arthur Hamilton
Producer(s) Denny Cordell, Leon Russell
Joe Cocker singles chronology
"The Letter"
(1970)		"Cry Me a River"
(1970)		"High Time We Went"
(1971)

English singer Joe Cocker's recorded his version as a part of his 1970 live album Mad Dogs & Englishmen . Backed with "Give Peace a Chance," it was released as a single in September 1970, peaking at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. [8] Billboard described it as "powerful updating in the unique Cocker style loaded with sales and chart potency. It's a funky mover from start to finish … a discotheque winner." [9] Cashbox denoted the single as a "Pick of the Week" and wrote "The words are the same as when Julie London hit with 'Cry Me a River,' but there the similarity ends. Sparkling piano, organ and brass work and Joe Cocker's unique rearrangement of the vocal end make the oldie a totally new experience." [10] Record World praised the single as "venerable." [11]

Chart performance

1970–1971 singles charts
ChartPeak
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) [12] 18
Canada RPM Top Singles [13] 15
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [14] 16
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [15] 13
US Billboard Hot 100 [8] 11
US Cashbox Top 100 [16] 16
US Record World Singles Chart [17] 7

Notable recordings

One site, SecondHandSongs, lists 716 recorded versions of the song (as of October 2024). [18] Versions that charted include:

Use in jazz improvisation

The opening phrase, known as the "Cry Me a River Lick", is often used by jazz musicians in improvisations. [21] It was notably explored by saxophonist Dexter Gordon in his composition "Cheese Cake". [22]

References

  1. ↑ "GRAMMY HALL OF FAME AWARD". www.grammy.com. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
  2. ↑ Berlau, John. "Crying a River for Years". WSJ. Archived from the original on 2016-06-30. Retrieved 2016-01-04.
  3. 1 2 "Billboard". 11 November 2000. Retrieved 1 May 2021– via Google Books.
  4. ↑ "PEGGY KING & ANDY KAHN - "Cry Me A River" at Metropolitan Room NYC 2-23-14". YouTube. 24 February 2014. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  5. ↑ Lang, Joe (June 2014). "Caught in the Act" (PDF). Jersey Jazz. 42 (6): 46. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-06-23. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  6. ↑ Cary O'Dell, "“Cry Me a River”—Julie London (1955)", Library of Congress. Retrieved March 7, 2020
  7. ↑ "National Recording Registry Recognizes "Mack the Knife," Motown and Mahler". Loc.gov.
  8. 1 2 "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  9. ↑ "Spotlight Singles" (PDF). Billboard . October 3, 1970. p. 70. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
  10. ↑ "Cashbox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cashbox . October 3, 1970. p. 22. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
  11. ↑ "Single Picks of the Week" (PDF). Record World . October 3, 1970. p. 1. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
  12. ↑ "Joe Cocker – Cry Me A River" . Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  13. ↑ "RPM 100 Singles". RPM . Vol. 14, no. 15. November 28, 1970.
  14. ↑ "Joe Cocker – Cry Me A River" . Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  15. ↑ "Joe Cocker – Cry Me A River" . Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  16. ↑ "Cashbox Top 100" (PDF). Cashbox . November 21, 1970. p. 4. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  17. ↑ "Record World 100 Top Pops" (PDF). Record World . November 21, 1970. p. 37. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  18. ↑ "Original versions of Cry Me a River written by Arthur Hamilton | SecondHandSongs". secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  19. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1996). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-1995. Record Research. p. 253. ISBN   0-89820-115-2.
  20. 1 2 3 "Cry Me a River". Official Charts Company.
  21. ↑ "Pattern 33 – Dm7, E7#9, Bm7b5 (Cry Me a River)".
  22. ↑ "7 ideas to apply the "Cry me a river lick" to the ii-V-I" (PDF). jazzsaxophonelessons.com.
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